February 6, 2026 | Mark Luis Foster

Data Centers are coming to farm fields near you, and sometimes they get a little too close to neighborhoods and HOAs where residents are decidedly angry about the construction and operation of an Amazon-warehouse-sized building across the street. The city of Farmington, MN has been the crosshairs on a data center and it came to a fever pitch this week with the resignation of the city’s mayor following a contentious City Council meeting that completely cratered. From Limitless Media:

The resignation announcement followed a highly charged Farmington City Council meeting on Monday, February 2, 2026, during which residents sharply criticized city leadership over a proposed data center project and the council’s public comment procedures.

Residents were quite outspoken about the proposal to build a data center near Farmington and the voices got loud. A local resident, David Pritzoff, testified against the project summed up the issues that were addressed:

“These people will be pumping water 24-7, 365 days a year,” Pritzoff said. “That’s just pulling water out of the aquifers like there’s no tomorrow.”

Other residents were concerned about the lack of a full environmental impact statement.

“We should build them where they belong — not here,” [resident Nate] Ryan said. He also questioned the city’s reliance on an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) instead of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), asking, “If you’re so confident in the process, why not require an EIS?”

There were other tussles about time limits for speaking, potential noise pollution and many other concerns, some of which got so hot that expletives were shared. And then:

In the days following the meeting, Hoyt submitted his resignation letter, citing the need to focus on his mental health and well-being.

“Serving our community has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Hoyt wrote in his resignation. “I believe that leadership requires clarity, presence, and well-being — and at this time, I need to prioritize my health.”

These David vs. Goliath stories are just the beginning in the whole effort to create more computing and data storage capabilities across the globe.

You can read the Farmington story HERE.